A Dish Best Served Cold (The Man In Rage)

Originally, the Han family had been a small family in Dongyang Town but, later on, Madam Han had risen through the ranks to become a county-level cadre in Jianghai. And using her accumulated connections and resources, she had made her family prosper.

Now, Madam Han had three children.

Other than her second child, Han Li, her other two children were doing well for themselves.

Perhaps due to her old age, she missed her home town.

So although Han Hai had already bought her a house in the city, Madam Han continued to stay in the old family house.

Dongyang Town.

It was still early but there were already a lot of cars parked outside the Han's family house.

To have gotten here so early, most of them were probably Madam Han's neighbors or her children.

As a matter of fact, two of Madam Han's children had already arrived before Ye Fan and Qiu Mu-Cheng.

Han Hai and his son, Han He, were chatting away with the old madam. On her right hand side sat a vampishly dressed middle-aged woman. She had on heavy makeup and was playing a game on her phone. This woman was Qiu Mu-Cheng's maternal aunt, Han Yue.

"Mom, what time is it now? Why isn't my sister here yet? I haven't seen her in a year and I miss her. I can't help but wonder if she is doing well. Does she have enough to eat? Is she keeping warm?" Han Yue smiled coldly and one could tell that there was a hint of ridicule in her words.

Madam Han glared at her youngest child and said angrily, "Do you really miss your sister? I think you are just eager to show off in front of her. You want to let her know that your family is better off than hers." Madam Han understood her daughter's character very well.

Before the mother-daughter pair could continue their conversation, however, they were interrupted by the arrival of Ye Fan and Qiu Mu-Cheng.

Qiu Mu-Cheng greeted her grandmother, the moment she entered the house.

"Oh, speak of the devil, here she is."

When Han Yue recognized Qiu Mu-Cheng, she laughed derisively and said, "Where is your mother? Why are you here by yourself? Is she absent because she is afraid of losing face?" There was a custom at Madam Han's birthday banquets.

Her three children would be seated at three separate tables, and each of them would play host to their own invited guests at their respective tables. That would make socialization easier for the guests. And Han Yue could still remember what had happened during last year's banquet.

Han Hai's table and her own had been filled with guests, who were there to offer birthday wishes to their mother, and to toady up to her and her brother. Only Han Li's table was devoid of guests. Apart from Han Li, her husband and her daughter, nobody else had sat at their table.

Han Yue had thought that she could once again see her sister make a fool of herself this year. But unexpectedly, out of fear of losing face, her sister had decided not to show up.

Qiu Mu-Cheng said nothing and just stood there with Ye Fan. Since Madam Han had not given them permission to sit, Qiu Mu-Cheng did not dare to do so.

"Eh, you even brought your underling here?"

"Mu-Cheng, well done. It looks like you are doing well for yourself. You even have an underling to carry your luggage when you leave the house." When Han Yue noticed Ye Fan, who was just standing behind his wife, she was both surprised and suspicious.

But Qiu Mu-Cheng looked a little embarrassed and said, "Auntie, this is Ye Fan. He is my husband."

Her words caused both Han Yue and Madam Han to be slightly surprised.

"What?"

"He is that live-in son-in-law!"

"The piece of trash you married."

"I have heard that he has never worked at all during your three years of marriage. He doesn't do anything and is just freeloading off you."

"Mu-Cheng, are you crazy?"

"Today is such an important occasion.

How could you bring him along?"

"Why did you bring him? To embarrass you?"

"Haha~" Han Yue was overjoyed. She started looking at Ye Fan and Qiu Mu-Cheng as if they were performing a skit.

Madam Han's birthday guests, who had come from around the town, were looking mockingly and pointing at Ye Fan as they talked among themselves.

"Unbelievable. The second daughter has a live-in son-in-law?"

"And he is actually a useless piece of trash?"

"To think the granddaughter of the acclaimed Madam Han has married such a useless man?"

"This is so humiliating-"

Fragments of the discussion reached Madam Han, who was seated in the seat of honor. Her mood turned foul immediately, and the smile on her face was replaced by a frown. "Where is your mother? The person who should be here isn't, and the person who should not be here is," the old lady said coldly.

'Who said you could bring him here?" Madam Han had never approved of her granddaughter's choice for a husband. She had wanted Qiu Mu-Cheng to divorce Ye Fan since a long time ago.

Qiu Mu-Cheng's face paled a little. "Grandmother, don't be like this. Ye Fan is here because he sincerely wants to wish you a happy birthday."

"Oh? In that case, let me see what kind of birthday present this piece of trash has prepared for your grandmother." Before Madam Han could respond, Han Yue had already chimed in with her question. She hugged herself and looked on with a disdainful smile on her face.

Ye Fan stepped forward and spoke politely to the old lady. "I have no idea what you like, so I asked my mother to send me some tea leaves from the countryside. We grew it ourselves. They are organically grown. The tea brewed from these leaves will not only refresh you, but it is also good for the brain as well. I hope you will accept my gift."

When Ye Fan had finished speaking, indistinct mocking laughter broke out among his audience.

And Han Yue's eyes were filled with ridicule as she laughed at him. "Haha, so Mu-Cheng's husband is just a country bumpkin!"

"Home-grown tea? Organically grown? The vegetables grown in the countryside are also organic. Why didn't you harvest a few catties and give them to my mother?"

"This is too funny. The tea leaves are only worth a few yuan per catty. I bet even the soil that was used to grow my wild ginseng is more valuable than your tea leaves. How dare you give something so cheap to my mother?"

"Mom, look at him. He doesn't take your birthday seriously. So he just brought some cheap stuff to fob you off." "Only I am foolish enough to spend a few hundred thousand to buy a wild ginseng for you from up north."

Han Yue had a mocking look in her eyes, as she showed off in front of everybody.

The surrounding guests were surprised when they heard this.

"Damn, it is a wild ginseng-"

"That is a rare treasure indeed."

"The third daughter is so thoughtful."

"She is so filial!"

"The old madam has a good daughter-"

The guests exclaimed feelingly, one after another.

Han Yue got even more smug and she looked down haughtily at Ye Fan and his wife.

Qiu Mu-Cheng finally decided that enough was enough and stepped up to defend her husband. "Auntie, this is Ye Fan's first visit. He is a guest. You can criticize me but it is not good to treat a guest so rudely." "A guest?" Han Yue burst out laughing. "He is just a useless live-in son-in-law. He doesn't have the right to be our guest. And you. The both of you came here under the pretense of wanting to offer birthday wishes to my mother. And then you tried to fob us off with some cheap gift. I think you are not really here for my mother's birthday. You are just here to get yourself some free food and drinks." "You" Qiu Mu-Cheng's face turned red with anger. Her aunt had gone too far. That woman had trampled their dignity into nothingness.

But at this moment, Ye Fan laughed lightly and stepped in front of his wife. And then he pointed at the ginseng. "Auntie, is this the wild ginseng you were talking about?"

"Oh, to think a trash like you actually know what a ginseng is. I thought you have never seen one before? Well, you may look but no touching. It costs a few hundred thousand. If you damage it, you will not be able to afford to compensate me for it." Han Yue had a disdainful look on her face as she insulted Ye Fan once again.

But Ye Fan remained composed. He shook his head with a smile and said, "Auntie, according to what I know, the taproot and rhizome of a wild ginseng have the same length. Wild ginsengs normally grow up to a length between three and ten centimeters. They look like the Chinese 'ren' character and are cylinder or rhombus in shape."

"More importantly, a wild ginseng is greyish-yellow in color and has a longitudinal grain on its surface. The fibrous roots are stringy, neat and clearly separated. Most roots have two branches each and you can clearly see wart-like bumps on them. Also, the stringy rhizomes have stem scars that are crowded together."

"But look at your 'wild ginseng'. The length is around fifteen centimeters. The fibrous roots are messy, short and ugly. I can tell right away that it is a cultivated ginseng plant."

"But this is unimportant. A cultivated ginseng is still a ginseng. The important thing is, not only are the fibrous roots messy, your ginseng is also dark-colored and you can smell a strange odor when you get close enough."

"If I am not wrong, someone gave this ginseng to you as a gift. But you kept it in your house for so long until it went bad. And then you remembered you have such a thing in your house, just in time for your mother's birthday. So you decided to give it to her as a present."

Ye Fan spoke indifferently, a subtle smile dancing on his lips.

Han Yue was flummoxed. Her face was full of shock as turmoil raged within her.

How...how did he know?

As Ye Fan continued to speak sombrely, it was clear that he had no intention of letting Han Yue off the hook.

"Although my tea leaves are not expensive, but they are a token of Mu-Cheng's and my filial piety. On the other hand, you gave something poisonous to your mother and tried to pass it off as a tonic. Auntie, what exactly is your motive?"

"Could it be that you wanted to turn your mother's birthday into her funeral?!!!"

Boom-

Ye Fan's accusation had the same impact as a rock striking the ground.

His words were sinister. But Ye Fan was an articulate speaker and his voice reverberated like thunder throughout the hall.

All of a sudden, the Han's family house went dead quiet.

As for Han Yue, she was looking deathly pale, as though Ye Fan had just given her a slap in the face. She had been scared witless!